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Thursday 10 November 2011

The Cold Wind Doth Blow

The picture (stolen), is not a true reflection of today except in my head.

I woke several times in the night, as usual, and was unusually for me, feeling cold, but thought no more about it until 6.00 am.

Getting up I was aware that the house was chilly so whisked downstairs to check heating thermometer.

Suddenly realised that not only was it only about 58 degrees, but there was no sound from the boiler.

Head finally working realised the central heating was not working, so tried all the tricks I knew to encourage 'life' to no effect.

Hastily scrambled through messy files to find British Gas maintenance details, phoned them and was told the earliest they can get an engineer out to me is tomorrow (Friday).  They can't be certain whether it will be am or pm but will 'try' for am.

Deep joy!

Brought up in a house with no central heating, and having lived to the age of 35 without ever having a centrally heated home, I've always considered myself to be fairly tough.  Ha!

Really don't know whether it is thinning blood (age), or simply the result of having lived in a comfortably warm house for 31 years, but, whatever the reason, I am now a fully qualified wimp.

This made me reflect on the fact that many people (of all ages), never experience the luxury of a warm comfortable home, where pushing a button can, on most occasions, either increase or decrease the level of warmth.

There are so many things we, the privileged ones, have to be grateful for, so many things we take for granted, as our 'right'.  Yet for other less fortunate people, such things are totally beyond reach.

I will stop shivering and put on another woolly.

11 comments:

  1. Poor Ray! Lots of layers and plenty of hot drinks will help, as will trying to live in one room as much as possible until the heating's back on. I speak from long and bitter experience. The name of our Welsh house translates as "the cold place" and boy does it live up to its name much of the time!

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  2. Port & Brandy - that is the solution here!

    Also, m'dear, having seen you trough alcohol in one of our cathedral towns, a wimp you ain't :)

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  3. Hi perpetua
    I have taken the 'lots of layers' advice, but the hot drink need to be limited since my ahem 'carrying capacity' is not what it was.
    Have decided to tackle some gardening, partly as a warm-up exercise and partly because the house is inevitably, a fraction warmer that outside.

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  4. Port and Brandy????
    Whatever next! I think both your solution and the adjective you used to describe my consumption of a modest (two double gins, as I recall), says more about your lifestyle than mine.
    "trough" indeed.
    I wasn't aware by the way, that one's ability to drink the odd gallon or two was a reliable measure of wimpiness.

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  5. It's what you do when you've drunk the odd gallon or two that is the measure - not just of wimpiness either!

    (and whether you can reliably remember later..)

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  6. Nothing wrong with my memory Nancy. How's yours?

    Nice to hear from you by the way.

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  7. Put the oven on and sit in the kitchen. Some good things on the radio-unless you have a TV in the kitchen. I hate being cold so warm thoughts your way!My mother always sits with a hot water bottle when she is cold-even in the summer.XX
    Soon be tomorrow

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  8. No self respecting flea would sit in my kitchen, and if it did there would be no room for its mate.
    Really I'm not too cold so will add a fleece and watch TV then add a second duvet in bed if necessary.
    Thanks for the thoughts, heart if nothing else, warming.

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  9. Praying you get a warm and cosy night tonight, it is always good to reflect on these inconveniences to bring reality to our situations isn't it. Hope they can get it fixed for you in the morning x.

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  10. Thanks Jane , that makes two of us.

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  11. As of 12.30pm today, warmth is restored.
    Halleluiah!

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